Oh, the secrets...

This morning we reprised an activity that we hadn't done in several years.  Each raiser contributes a fact about him/herself that the others won't know, and then we play a game to identify everyone.  Each time we do this we are flabbergasted to unveil what an interesting group of people with which we share this adventure.  

As for the dogs, the practice for them simulates a cocktail party.  Those of us who've ever attended a Dogs Inc banquet, Commencement, or groundbreaking know that those events put tremendous pressure on a puppy (literally) "in the face of" so many other dogs, whether trainees or working dogs.  It is our job to create the necessary personal space and to insist on a level of composure that will set them up for future success in such a setting.  

Oh -- and to have a LOT of fun with unmasking everyone!

Beacon and Atlas

 

Franny and Hudson

Mastro and Buddy

Dash

Jewel

Beacon and Jewel

Rosie and Jewel

The Yellow Squad!

A peek under our puppy vests

What a vista!

Samuel, in North Carolina with Sarane.  

So much excitement

Our pups always have fun (and a lot of new experiences) when they stay with another raiser for a short time. 

Pretty sure Franny passes the "okay with cats" benchmark!  (Crate door is open.  Nobody's under any pressure here.)

Brooke always captures nice portraits of the pups who visit.

And...this is what they tend to look like when they get back to their full-time homes.  "I had a great time, but I am super pooped!"

Retail therapy at Skechers

Tonight's excursion was to the Sketchers store for a little exploration.  Raisers were asked to try on shoes in order to practice having their puppies lie calmly and wait.  Shoppers and employees loved having us!

Skylar

Hudson

Franny

Dash

Skylar, bored   ;-)

Beacon

A great group of people, enjoying the air conditioning and camaraderie.

Happy bird dog!

That's a very big bird, Franny!  Might want to leave him alone. 

(For non-local readers, this exquisite flamingo sculpture has been erected at Tampa International Airport.  We're pretty fond of it!)

That face!

Franny's new family just might be smitten.

(Lynda's travels meant that she was unable to complete the entire fourteen months of raising Franny.  A "finish" family is a second family to raise a dog in just this kind of situation.  Mike and Bryn will have Franny until the completion of her puppy training in October.)

Miss Manners

At this morning's outing, Carrie set up stations for the puppies to practice their basic skills while their handlers did simulated household chores.  The goal was simply for them to wait calmly so the tasks could be completed.  These skills, along with many others, fall under the category we call "housemanners," and they are critical for the pups to develop.  Everyone did exceptionally well!

Franny, while Bryn simulated food preparation.

Beacon, as Ann folded laundry.  Note the dropped sock that he ignored beautifully.

Skylar shows her composure at the food prep.

And she couldn't have cared less about the vacuum (not running).

Having recently completed Puppy Kindergarten, Beacon receives his vest.  Job well done.

What a perfect first photo of a working team!

Don't forget me!

This week, Sarane had the opportunity to sit Trooper, a dog from Georgia who will begin his professional training next week.  After a grocery shopping trip, Sarane opened the hatchback to load her bags into the car.  Trooper apparently didn't want to be left behind, so he invited himself in and found a great place to sit down!  Sarane reports that he was a very good boy during his time with her.

The adventure begins

Samuel supervises a paving project while off at puppy camp.  It's going to be a fun two weeks!

Sporting a new look

On his 10-month birthday, Samuel graduates into the next-sized puppy vest.  It suits you, handsome.

Making friends in the neighborhood

Gentle Skylar uses her most delicate greeting for her new friend.

Who is this?

Samuel, you're a birding dog, not a herding dog.

Hiding from the heat

While we always have a "game plan" for practice and learning, the honest-to-goodness point of summer meetings often being held in libraries is to get some relief from the Florida heat!

We talked through many aspects of negotiating doors with regard to our pups.  Automatic doors, left-hinged doors, crate doors, and car doors all came up in our wide-ranging discussion.

Then a round of musical chairs was in order.  

Our "chairs" are variations on this theme.  ;-)

After the dogs had their competition, the humans were given their challenge -- pop culture quotes that needed to be identified by speaker or movie or book, etc.  We do get competitive, and we do have fun!  The police officer on security duty in the hall assured us that our laughter didn't get out of hand.  :-)

The concentration!!  You'd think there were prizes.  (Okay, there were prizes.)

Even if it seems like humans playing trivia doesn't have a point for the dogs, it absolutely does.  Their assignment was just to wait calmly.

Thanks, everybody, for a fun and productive morning.